YOGYAKARTA - Dean of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UGM, Prof. Dr. drh. Bambang Sumiarto, M.Sc., inaugurated 66 new vets on Tuesday (7/6) in Auditorium of the Faculty. They consisted of 35 male and 31 female vets. So far, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UGM has inaugurated 3844 vets. The best graduate this period was achieved by Lydia Cahyatrianti with GPA 3.24. Meanwhile, noted as the youngest vet was Amrie Muhammad, who graduated at the age of 23 years, 4 months 3 weeks.
In his speech, Bambang Sumiarto advised that vet graduates of the Faculty always have a strong commitment to science and technology development in the veterinary field and uphold professionalism as a vet.
He said that a vet is a specialty of veterinary medicine that legally has authority to act and behave in accordance with professional guidelines and rules of science to overcome diseases in animals which may be sources of disease for humans and other animals. "Graduates of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UGM are educated to become professional vets who have global perspective to realize healthy and prosperous community through animal health," he said.
Bambang also briefly mentioned the plan for the formation of Water Mammal Research Center (PPMA) in the Faculty. According to Bambang, the existence of the Center is inseparable from the role of alumni who have expertise in the field of water mammals. "The Water Mammal Research Center carries out the main duty of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to educate vets and give debriefing to candidates with professional competence," he said.
Follow-up cooperation in the field of water mammals has been carried out through in-depth review and considering inputs from all stakeholders in order to carry out the duty of University.
Chairman of Indonesian Veterinary Association, Dr. Wiwiek Bagja, said currently the need for veterinary graduates in the workplace is increasing. The role of vets is felt more important in the effort to deal with various problems in the field of infectious diseases from animals to humans. "Recently there are zoonotic disease control efforts around the world so we need partnerships between general practitioners and vets in handling zoonosis diseases," she said.
Wiwiek mentioned that 338 new infectious diseases have been found around the world due to global warming and climate change. Of the diseases, about 61 percent are zoonotic ones. "Some 75 percent of diseases come from wildlife," she said.